Multi-scale Modeling and Finite Element Analyses of Thermal Conductivity of 3D C/SiC Composites Fabricating by Flexible-Oriented Woven Process

Thermal conductivity is one of the most significant criterion of three-dimensional carbon fiber-reinforced SiC matrix composites(3D C/SiC).Represent volume element(RVE)models of microscale,void/matrix and mesoscale proposed in this work are used to simulate the thermal conductivity behaviors of the 3D C/SiC composites.An entirely new process is introduced to weave the preform with three-dimensional orthogonal architecture.The 3D steady-state analysis step is created for assessing the thermal conductivity behaviors of the composites by applying periodic temperature boundary conditions.Three RVE models of cuboid,hexagonal and fiber random distribution are respectively developed to comparatively study the influence of fiber package pattern on the thermal conductivities at the microscale.Besides,the effect of void morphology on the thermal conductivity of the matrix is analyzed by the void/matrix models.The prediction results at the mesoscale correspond closely to the experimental values.The effect of the porosities and fiber volume fractions on the thermal conductivities is also taken into consideration.The multi-scale models mentioned in this paper can be used to predict the thermal conductivity behaviors of other composites with complex structures.

Revealing the Role of Defect in 3D Graphene-Based Photocatalytic Composite for Efficient Elimination of Antibiotic and Heavy Metal Combined Pollution

Defect engineering can give birth to novel properties for adsorption and photocatalysis in the control of antibiotics and heavy metal combined pollution with photocatalytic composites.However,the role of defects and the process mechanism are complicated and indefinable.Herein,TiO_(2)/CN/3DC was fabricated and defects were introduced into the tripartite structure with separate O_(2)plasma treatment for the single component.We find that defect engineering can improve the photocatalytic activity,attributing to the increase of the contribution from h^(+)and OH.In contrast to TiO_(2)/CN/3DC with a photocatalytic tetracycline removal rate of 75.2%,the removal rate of TC with D-TiO_(2)/CN/3DC has increased to 88.5%.Moreover,the reactive sites of tetracycline can be increased by adsorbing on the defective composites.The defect construction on TiO_(2)shows the advantages in tetracycline degradation and Cu^(2+)adsorption,but also suffers significant inhibition for the tetracycline degradation in a tetracycline/Cu^(2+)combined system.In contrast,the defect construction on graphene can achieve the cooperative removal of tetracycline and Cu^(2+).These findings can provide new insights into water treatment strategies with defect engineering.

Biomimetic 3D printing of composite structures with decreased cracking

The development of tissue engineering and regeneration research has created new platforms for bone transplantation.However,the prepara-tion of scaffolds with goodfiber integrity is challenging,because scaffolds prepared by traditional printing methods are prone tofiber cracking during solvent evaporation.Human skin has an excellent natural heat-management system,which helps to maintain a constant body tem-perature through perspiration or blood-vessel constriction.In this work,an electrohydrodynamic-jet 3D-printing method inspired by the thermal-management system of skin was developed.In this system,the evaporation of solvent in the printedfibers can be adjusted using the temperature-change rate of the substrate to prepare 3D structures with good structural integrity.To investigate the solvent evaporation and the interlayer bonding of thefibers,finite-element analysis simulations of a three-layer microscale structure were carried out.The results show that the solvent-evaporation path is from bottom to top,and the strain in the printed structure becomes smaller with a smaller temperature-change rate.Experimental results verified the accuracy of these simulation results,and a variety of complex 3D structures with high aspect ratios were printed.Microscale cracks were reduced to the nanoscale by adjusting the temperature-change rate from 2.5 to 0.5○C s-1.Opti-mized process parameters were selected to prepare a tissue engineering scaffold with high integrity.It was confirmed that this printed scaffold had good biocompatibility and could be used for bone-tissue regeneration.This simple andflexible 3D-printing method can also help with the preparation of a wide range of micro-and nanostructured sensors and actuators.

Effective Thermal Conductivity for 3D Five-Directional Braided Composites Based on Microstructural Analysis

A method for predicting effective thermal conductivities(ETCs) of three-dimensional five-directional(3D5D) braided composites is presented. The effective thermal conductivity prediction method contains a digital image processing technology. Multiple scanning electron microscopy(SEM)images of composites are analyzed to obtain actual microstructural features. These actual microstructural features of 3D5D braided composites are introduced into representative volume element(RVE) modeling. Apart from applying actual microstructural features,compression effects between yarns are considered in the modeling of RVE,making the RVE more realistic. Therefore,the ETC prediction method establishes a representative unit cell model that better reflects the true microstructural characteristics of the 3D5D braided composites. The ETCs are predicted with the finite element method. Then thermal conductivity measurements are carried out for a 3D5D braided composite sample.By comparing the predicted ETC with the measured thermal conductivity, the whole process of the ETC prediction method is proved to be effective and accurate,where a relative error of only 2.9 % is obtained.Furthermore,the effects of microstructural features are investigated,indicating that increasing interior braiding angles and fiber fill factor can lead to higher transverse ETCs. Longitudinal ETCs decrease with increasing interior braiding angles,but increase with increasing fiber fill factor. Finally,the influence of variations of microstructure parameters observed in digital image processing are investigated. To explore the influence of variations in microstructural features on variations in predicted ETCs,the actual probability distributions of microstructural features obtained from the 3D5D braided composite sample are introduced into the ETC investigation. The results show that,compared with the interior braiding angle,variations in the fiber fill factor exhibit more significant effects on variations in ETCs.

Fracture Mechanism of 3D, Five-directional Braided (SiO_2)_f /SiO_2 Composites Prepared by Silicasol-infiltration-sintering Method

Three-dimensional （3D） five-directional braided （SiO2）/SiO2 composites were prepared by silicasol-infiltration-sintering （SIS） method. The flexural properties and microstructures were studied. The flexural strength and flexural elastic modulus were found to be 73 MPa and 12 GPa, respectively. The results of stress vs deflection curve and SEM examinations revealed that the fracture mechanism of 3D, five-directional braided （SiO2）/SiO2 composite was a mixture mode of ductile and brittle. The ductile mode was attributed to the weak bonding strength of fiber/matrix at low temperature. The brittle fracture might be caused by the propagation of micro defect or crack, which existed in the as-prepared composites for the ten-cycle process.

Multifunctional characteristics of 3D printed polymer nanocomposites under monotonic and cyclic compression

This study presents the multifunctional characteristics of multi-walled carbon nanotube(MWCNT)/polypropylene random copolymer(PPR) composites enabled via fused filament fabrication(FFF) under monotonic and quasi-static cyclic compression. Utilizing in-house MWCNT-engineered PPR filament feedstocks, both bulk and cellular composites were realized. The morphological features of nanocomposites were examined via scanning electron microscopy, which reveals that MWCNTs are uniformly dispersed. The uniformly dispersed MWCNTs forms an electrically conductive network within the PPR matrix, and the resulting nanocomposite shows good electrical conductivity(~10^(-1)S/cm), improved mechanical performance(modulus increases by 125% and compressive strength increases by 25% for 8 wt% MWCNT loading) and pronounced piezoresistive response(gauge factor of 27.9-8.5 for bulk samples)under compression. The influence of strain rate on the piezoresistive response of bulk samples(4 wt% of MWCNT) under compression was also measured. Under repeated cyclic compression(2% constant strain amplitude), the nanocomposite exhibited stable piezoresistive performance up to 100 cycles. The piezoresistive response under repeated cyclic loading with increasing strain amplitude of was also assessed.The gauge factor of BCC and FCC cellular composites(4 wt% of MWCNT) with a relative density of 30%was observed to be 46.4 and 30.2 respectively, under compression. The higher sensitivity of the BCC plate-lattice could be attributed to its higher degree of stretching-dominated deformation behavior than the FCC plate-lattice, which exhibits bending-dominated behavior. The 3D printed cellular PPR/MWCNT composites structures were found to show excellent piezoresistive self-sensing characteristics and open new avenues for in situ structural health monitoring in various applications.

Development of 3D bicontinuous metal-intermetallic composites through subsequent alloying process after liquid metal dealloying

This study presents a novel process for the fabrication of metal-intermetallic composites with a 3D bicontinuous structure, achieved through a combination of liquid metal dealloying(LMD) and subsequent alloying. Initially, porous Ti structures are produced using the LMD process, followed by immersion in a molten Mg-3Al(wt%) metal. Due to the higher thermodynamic miscibility of Al with Ti compared to Mg, the concentration of Al in the Ti matrix increases as the immersion time increases. This results in a sequential phase transition within the Ti matrix: α-Ti → Ti_(3)Al → Ti Al. The phase transition considerably affects the hardness and strength of the composite material,with the Mg-Ti_(3)Al-Ti Al composite exhibiting a maximum hardness nearly twice as high as that of the conventional Mg-Ti composite. This innovative process holds potential for the development of various bicontinuous metal-intermetallic composites.

Effects of Fiber Volume Fraction on Damping Properties of Three-Dimensional and Five-Directional Braided Composites

The effects of fiber volume fraction on damping properties of carbon fiber three-dimensional and five-directional( 3D-5Dir)braided carbon fiber / epoxyres in composite cantilever beams were studied by experimental modal analysis method. Meanwhile,carbon fiber plain woven laminated / epoxy resin composites with different fiber volume fraction were concerned for comparison. The experimental result of braided specimens shows that the first three orders of natural frequency increase and the first three orders of the damping ratios of specimens decrease, when the fiber volume fraction increases. Furthermore,larger fiber volume fraction will be valuable for the better anti-exiting property of braided composites,and get an opposite effect on dissipation of vibration energy. The fiber volume fraction is an important factor for vibration performance design of braided composites. The comparison between the braided specimens and laminated specimens reveals that 3D braided composites have a wider range of damping properties than laminated composites with the same fiber volume fractions.

Experimental study of 3D printed carbon fibre sandwich structures for lightweight applications

Honeycomb sandwich structures are widely used in lightweight applications.Usually,these structures are subjected to extreme loading conditions,leading to potential failures due to delamination and debonding between the face sheet and the honeycomb core.Therefore,the present study is focused on the mechanical characterisation of honeycomb sandwich structures fabricated using advanced 3D printing technology.The continuous carbon fibres and ONYX-FR matrix materials have been used as raw materials for 3D printing of the specimens needed for various mechanical characterization testing;ONYX-FR is a commercial trade name for flame retardant short carbon fibre filled nylon filaments,used as a reinforcing material in Morkforged 3D printer.Edgewise and flatwise compression tests have been conducted for different configurations of honeycomb sandwich structures,fabricated by varying the face sheet thickness and core cell size,while keeping the core cell thickness and core height constant.Based on these tests,the proposed structure with face sheet thickness of 3.2 mm and a core cell size of 12.7 mm exhibited the highest energy absorption and prevented delamination and debonding failures.Therefore,3D printing technology can also be considered as an alternative method for sandwich structure fabrication.However,detailed parametric studies still need to be conducted to meet various other structural integrity criteria related to the lightweight applications.

Three-dimensional stability calculation method for high and large composite slopes formed by mining stope and inner dump in adjacent open pits

The 2D limit equilibrium method is widely used for slope stability analysis.However,with the advancement of dump engineering,composite slopes often exhibit significant 3D mechanical effects.Consequently,it is of significant importance to develop an effective 3D stability calculation method for composite slopes to enhance the design and stability control of open-pit slope engineering.Using the composite slope formed by the mining stope and inner dump in Baiyinhua No.1 and No.2 open-pit coal mine as a case study,this research investigates the failure mode of composite slopes and establishes spatial shape equations for the sliding mass.By integrating the shear resistance and sliding force of each row of microstrip columns onto the bottom surface of the strip corresponding to the main sliding surface,a novel 2D equivalent physical and mechanical parameters analysis method for the strips on the main sliding surface of 3D sliding masses is proposed.Subsequently,a comprehensive 3D stability calculation method for composite slopes is developed,and the quantitative relationship between the coordinated development distance and its 3D stability coefficients is examined.The analysis reveals that the failure mode of the composite slope is characterized by cutting-bedding sliding,with the arc serving as the side interface and the weak layer as the bottom interface,while the destabilization mechanism primarily involves shear failure.The spatial form equation of the sliding mass comprises an ellipsoid and weak plane equation.The analysis revealed that when the coordinated development distance is 1500 m,the error rate between the 3D stability calculation result and the 2D stability calculation result of the composite slope is less than 8%,thereby verifying the proposed analytical method of equivalent physical and mechanical parameters and the 3D stability calculation method for composite slopes.Furthermore,the3D stability coefficient of the composite slope exhibits an exponential correlation with the coordinated development distance,with the coefficient gradually decreasing as the coordinated development distance increases.These findings provide a theoretical guideline for designing similar slope shape parameters and conducting stability analysis.

Tungsten oxide/nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes composite catalysts for enhanced redox kinetics in lithium-sulfur batteries

The sluggish redox kinetics of polysulfides in lithium-sulfur(Li-S)batteries are a significant obstacle to their widespread adoption as energy storage devices.However,recent studies have shown that tungsten oxide(WO_(3))can facilitate the conversion kinetics of polysulfides in Li-S batteries.Herein,we fabricated host materials for sulfur using nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes(N-CNTs)and WO_(3).We used low-cost components and simple procedures to overcome the poor electrical conductivity that is a disadvantage of metal oxides.The composites of WO_(3) and N-CNTs(WO_(3)/N-CNTs)create a stable framework structure,fast ion diffusion channels,and a 3D electron transport network during electrochemical reaction processes.As a result,the WO_(3)/N-CNT-Li2S6 cathode demonstrates high initial capacity(1162 mA·h·g^(-1) at 0.5℃),excellent rate performance(618 mA·h·g^(-1) at 5.5℃),and a low capacity decay rate(0.093%up to 600 cycles at 2℃).This work presents a novel approach for preparing tungsten oxide/carbon composite catalysts that facilitate the redox kinetics of polysulfide conversion.

INCLINED LAMINAL COMBINATION MODEL OF 3D BRAIDED COMPOSITES

As an advanced composite material, the 3D braided composite has received more and more attention in foreign countries. However, it has received less attention in China. The geometric unit cell which can describe the basic structure and the relationship between the braiding angle and geometric parameters of the fabric and fiber volume ratio are given in this paper based on two 3D braiding processes, namely, the four-step and the twostep ones. Several existing mechanical models to predict groperties of the 3D braided comPOsites are discussed and their shortcomings are pointed out herein. Then a new model called the inclined laminal combination model is proposed, which is based on the classical laminated plate theory and can predict the basic mechanical behavior of the two 3D braided composites with four-step or two-step braid. In the model, each yarn in the unit cell is regarded as an inclined laminate and then a 3D analysis is performed. It is found that the predicted mechanical properties of the 3D braided composites by the proposed model are compared well with the experimental data.

Evaluation of different crosslinking methods in altering the properties of extrusion-printed chitosan-basedmulti-material hydrogel composites

Three-dimensional printing technologies exhibit tremendous potential in the advancing fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine due to the precise spatial control over depositing the biomaterial.Despite their widespread utilization and numerous advantages,the development of suitable novel biomaterials for extrusion-based 3D printing of scaffolds that support cell attachment,proliferation,and vascularization remains a challenge.Multi-material composite hydrogels present incredible potential in this field.Thus,in this work,a multi-material composite hydrogel with a promising formulation of chitosan/gelatin functionalized with egg white was developed,which provides good printability and shape fidelity.In addition,a series of comparative analyses of different crosslinking agents and processes based on tripolyphosphate(TPP),genipin(GP),and glutaraldehyde(GTA)were investigated and compared to select the ideal crosslinking strategy to enhance the physicochemical and biological properties of the fabricated scaffolds.All of the results indicate that the composite hydrogel and the resulting scaffolds utilizing TPP crosslinking have great potential in tissue engineering,especially for supporting neo-vessel growth into the scaffold and promoting angiogenesis within engineered tissues.

ELASTIC BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS OF 3D ANGLE-INTERLOCK WOVEN CERAMIC COMPOSITES

A micromechanical model for elastic behavior analysis of angle-interlock woven ceramic composites is proposed in this paper. This model takes into account the actual fabric structure by considering the fiber undulation and continuity in space, the cavities between adjacent yarns and the actual cross-section geometry of the yarn. Based on the laminate theory, the elastic properties of 3D angle-interlock woven ceramic composites are predicted. Different numbers of interlaced wefts have almost the same elastic moduli. The thickness of ceramic matrix has little effect on elastic moduli. When the undulation ratio increases longitudinal modulus decreases and the other Young＇s moduli increase. Good agreement between theoretical predictions and experimental results demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed model in analyzing the elastic properties of 3D angle-interlock woven ceramic composites. The results of this paper verify the fact that the method of analyzing polyester matrix composites is suitable for woven ceramic composites.

Recent advances on 3D printing graphene-based composites

3D printing or additive manufacturing (AM) has revolutionized the way of manufacturing by designing complex structures in a customized feature which cannot be realized by traditional processing methods. Incoming materials are trying to adopt 3D printing techniques which directly fabricate sophisticated entities with multifunctionality like mechanical, electrical, thermal and magnetic properties etc. For the realization of advanced materials, 3D printing techniques are emerging from single material to composite materials manufacturing by simply introducing the nano- and micro-reinforcements with the matrix. In this review, we provide an outline of 3D printing graphene-based composites according to various AM techniques including fused deposition modeling (FDM), direct ink writing (DIW), stereolithography (SLA) and selective laser sintering (SLS). First a brief introduction of various AM techniques is given to get a basic understanding of the principles of 3D printing, and then the fabrication process, structural characteristics and applications of different 3D printing techniques for graphene-based composites are summarized. In addition, some effective simulation and characterization methods are also included. We hope that this review would clarify the potential of AM techniques for composite materials and can open new prospects for designing of novel materials.

Micro Mechanical Model of 3D Woven Composites

A combined beam model representing the periodicity of the microstructure and micro deformation of 3D woven composites is developed for predicting mechanical properties. The model considers the effects of off axial tension/compression and bending/shearing couplings as well as the mutual reactions of fiber yarns. The method determining microstructure by using woven parameters is described for a typical 3D woven composite material. An analytical cell, constructed by a minimum periodic section of yarn and interlayer matrix, is adopted. Micro stresses in the cell under in-plane tensile loading are obtained by using the proposed beam model and macro modulus is then obtained by the averaging method. Material tests and a 2D micro FEM analysis are made to evaluate this model. Analyses reveal that micro stress caused by tensile/bending coupling effect is not negligible in the stress analysis.

ANALYSIS ON BUCKLING AND POSTBUCKLING OF DELAMINATION IN 3D COMPOSITES

In this paper, the problem of axisymmetric buckling and postbuckling of a circular thin-film delamination bridged by through-thickness fiber tows in 3D composites is presented. An iterative procedure based on Taylor's series expansion is used to generate a family of nondimensionalized postbuckling solutions of the above problem by von Karman's nonlinear plate theory. Attention is focused, herein, on the effects of the bridge force of through-thickness fibers on the buckling and postbuckling behavior of the delamination. It is found that fiber bridge not only increases the ability of resisting delamination buckling and postbuckling, but also brings on the jump of the delamination deflection mode during the postbuckling phase. Consequently the behavior of the composite structure with delamination is greatly improved, such as increasing the residual strength and prolonging the service life.

Fiber Line Optimization in Single Ply for 3D Printed Composites

In conventional manufacturing processes of composites, Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) laminates have been made by stacking unidirectional or woven prepreg sheets. Recently, as a manufacturing process of CFRP, 3D printing of CFRP composites has been developed. The 3D printing process of CFRP composites enables us to fabricate CFRP laminates with arbitrary curvilinear fibre plies. This indicates that the optimization of the in-plane curved carbon fibre placement in a planar ply is strongly required to realize superior 3D printed composites. In the present paper, in-plane curved carbon fibre alignment of a ply with an open hole is optimized in terms of maximization of the fracture strength. For the optimization process, a genetic algorithm is adopted. To describe curved carbon fibre alignments in a planar ply, stream lines of perfect flow is employed. By using the stream lines of the perfect flow, number of optimization parameters is significantly reduced. After the optimization, the fracture strength of CFRP laminate is compared with the results of unidirectional CFRP ply. The curved fibre placement in a planar ply shows superior fracture improvement.

RESIDUAL STRENGTH AND FATIGUE LIFE OF 2-D AND 3-D CARBON FABRIC COMPOSITES

The fatigue behavior and damage mechanisms of 2 D and 3 D carbon/epoxy composites with approximately the same 51% fiber volume fraction were investigated. A test program was conducted on fatigue residual strength and fatigue life under constant amplitude tensile fatigue loading. Equations of predicting the fatigue life for both 2 D and 3 D composites were provided. Comparison of the 2 D and 3 D composites indicated that due to the through thickness reinforcement, the 3 D composite has considerably better fatigue performance. Comparison of experimental data with calculation results shows good agreement, thus confirming the usefulness of the predictions.

A NEW APPROACH TO MANUFACTURING 3D WOVEN PREFORMS USED FOR STRUCTURAL COMPOSITES

The manufacturing of three-dimensional textile preforms used for composites started to re-ceive much attention in the last decade.The major barriers to accelerating the transition from thelamination of two-dimensional fabrics to manufacturing integral three-dimensional near-netshaped textile preforms are high cost and database deficiency.To reduce the cost of weaving three-dimensional preforms,and make full use of the potential of conventional looms,a rig was designedwhich can convert two-dimensional woven fabric to particular three-dimensional preforms wherethe yarn is orientated in the directions of maximum stress.